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Indian Fables and Folklore by Shovona Devi
The Man in the Eye
If one looks at their reflection of the pupil, they would see a tiny man
Some believe him to be their reflection and others believe him to be death
The Hare in the Moon
A saucy little hare confronts the biggest elephant to save his peers from being further crushed
He claims to be the Hare in the Moon
Wit is what saved the hares
The Elephant-Fighting Hare
A hare challenges an elephant (the chief) to fight
The elephant didn't wish to fight until he was angered
The hare manages to dodge all of the attacks
The elephant goes to lay on him, but instead, the hare lays on him
The other elephants believe that the hare is holding him down, but the elephant just believes that he is crushing the hare to death
Thus the elephants were vanquished
The Hungry Elephant
Elephant can use both sense and strength
An elephant, named Futtehgurrh, came into a bazaar looking for food
He was denied so he butted his head against the stall and caused it to crumble
He saw all that he had asked for and more, so he feasted
The Moon in the Well
Monkeys were raiding an orchard when the moon disappeared
They went searching for it
A well that was next to them held the reflection of the moon
The monkeys try and save the moon, but all of them fall down the well
The monkey is believed to be a fool and so more stories are told
A Rat's Svyamvara
A mighty sage would stand in the Ganges and worship the sun
One day a baby rat dropped from a hawk's talons into the hands of the sage
The sage gave the baby rat to his wife
The sage turned the rat into a little girl to appease his wife
The little girl soon grew into womanhood and so the sage wished to marry her
He said for her to marry the sun, but she asked if any was mightier than him and he said the cloud
She asked the cloud the same and he said the wind
The wind said the mountain
The mountain said the rat
The rat came and she was transformed back into the rat and she married him
The Frog-King's Folly
A snake, Manda-Vish, had grown too old to hunt prey so he went to live beside a pond full of frogs
The king of the frogs, Yal-pada, asked him why and he explained that a curse was put upon him
He had bitten a Brahmin and therefore had a curse put upon him that he could never harm frogs without the permission of the king
The snake offers to let Yal-pada ride on his head wherever he wishes to go
He hops on him and takes a ride
Manda-Vish grows weak and asks for the king to grant him a frog to eat
The king, not wanting to lose dignity, allows Manda-Vish to eat one of his servants
Therefore, Manda-Vish took Yal-pada on a ride everyday and managed to have one frog everyday
This happened until all the frogs were eaten, including Yal-pada
Gautama the Ungrateful
Gautama was a Brahmin who was made to beg for his food
Gautama met a stranger while out walking and the stranger happened to be a robber
He had asked the stranger for food, but the stranger gave him a gold coin instead of robbing him
Gautama ends up going to live with the robber and continues on to become one himself
Gautama runs into an old friend of his that is a Brahmin himself
The friend questions if it is truly Gautama
Gautama had spoken to his friend and then so desired to return to his home and his friends
He left the house of the robber by night and slept under a tree that was protected by a crane
The crane had advised him to go to Viru-paksha to receive gold coins
After he went and received the coins, Gautama returned to sleep under the tree
Gautama decided to kill the crane because he had no food and it would be a long journey
Viru-paksha waited for the crane the next morning, but he didn't come
He sent a messenger who found out that he was murdered
Viru-paksha, when Gautama was brought before him, decreed Gautama be cut up and fed to the vultures and dogs
The vultures dogs, jackals, and worms would not eat the pieces of him
Ratnakar, the Robber-Chief
Ratnakar was a robber-chief, who was also a Brahmin
Ratnakar and his band worshipped Kali and made sacrifices to her
Ratnakar experiences an unfavorable day and so he goes to find a sacrifice
The man questions if Ratnakar's wife and children would approve of his ways
He ties the man to a tree and then asks his wife
The wife does not approve of his ways even though she lives off of his blunders
The children did not approve as well
Ratnakar goes back to free the man that he tied up
Ratnakar's band found a little girl in the woods, who they took to the temple to sacrifice to Kali
Ratnakar stops his band from sacrificing the girl and so they deserted him
Ratnakar becomes Valmiki due to his austerities
He becomes the author of the Ramayana
He encounters two goddesses
The Ring of Renunciation
Rita-dhwaja, a king, was married to Madalasa
They had a son who complained about a peasant boy being rude to him when he was playing a game
His mother showed him a perspective, which led the boy to become a hermit
The king and queen had two more sons, who also went to the ways of a hermit
At last the king asked the queen to teach their last son who was born the ways of the state
The queen teaches the boy these things and finally, he prepares to ascend the throne
When he ascends, the king and queen go to live in the woods
They leave him with parting knowledge
King: Beware of the King of the Kashis
Queen: she offers her ring that he should read when he gives up on the world
He eventually reads the ring after being defeated by the King of the Kashis
It says to "Leave the World and Love the Lord"
Alarka, the king, asks to be the King of the Kashis friend
Due to this friendship, his son is able to marry the daughter of the King of the Kashis
His son is put on the throne and Alarka and his wife go into the woods where nature will be the teacher
The Gifts of the Sun
Yamadagni, a sage, was shooting arrows with Renuka, his wife
Renuka exclaims that the sun is burning her head and the sand is burning her feet
Yamadagni threatens to shoot the sun down
The sun gifts her with a parasol and slippers so Yamadagni does not shoot
This is the origin of parasols and slippers/shoes
Atreya's Heaven
Atreya, a renowned sage
He was the son of Atri
He could place himself anywhere, so one day he went to the Heaven of Indra
When he returns to his cottage, he is not pleased with the food that his wife provides him
Therefore, he decides to summon Vishva-Karma
He asks Vishva-Karma to craft him a Heaven like that of Indra
Vishva-Karma fears the Brahmin's curse and so he fulfills his wish
Atreya's Heaven attracts giants, who level it to the ground
Therefore, Atreya calls upon Vishva-Karma again and asks for his simple cottage back
Atreya never complains about humble living again
Yudhishtir's Dog
A great battle broke out between the Pandavas and the Kauravas
The Pandavas and Draupadi departed for Mount Sumeru
Along the way, the brothers and Draupadi fall and all that is left is Yudhishtir and his dog
When they get up to the top, Indra does not allow the dog into Heaven
Yudhishtir says that all the others abandoned him, while his dog stayed true
Since Yudhishtir had pleaded so nobly for the dog to be let in, his wish was granted
Yudhishtir and his dog are both allowed entrance into Heaven
The Dogs of Hell
Yama was the one to discover Hell and with him were two dogs as faithful as Yudhishtir's
Their four eyes point in the cardinal direction
They are like shepherd dogs for souls
The Magic Food-Bowl of the Sun
It opens talking about Yudhishtir's gambling problem
Due to being exiled, the brothers and Draupadi lived in the woods
One day, Yudhishtir begged the sun for food since they couldn't wrangle up enough to eat
The sun took pity on him and gave him a food-bowl that filled with whatever was desired
This is the only reason they survived exile
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